


Happiness

by SuYeon



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Hakuryuu is happy and nothing bad is happening to him or his family, no abusive family members or shitty friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-07-28 07:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7630372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuYeon/pseuds/SuYeon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One Shots about Hakuryuu, his wife and his children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The first child (Part 1)

Hakuryuu couldn’t understand what was going on in the heads of the servants or his wife. His wife was pregnant and they knew that she would soon give birth to their first child, but who could have known that it would happen today.   
He wanted to be with his wife. Of course he couldn’t do much besides holding her hand, but he wanted to do at least that. She often had told him that he holding her hand was important to her. Wasn’t it important now? Did the servants forgot to tell him? But according to the servant he asked, his wife did ask them not to tell him.   
Had he done something that made her angry? Or did she thought it would bother him to be by her side at such an important moment? The more he thought about the reason behind it, the greater became his fear. His life never was easy since the death of his father and his brothers and every time he thought things were finally alright, something bad happened. Before the wedding he feared that something would happen to him or his wife – someone interrupting the wedding or one of them dying. After the wedding he feared the same. Life had been cruel to him, why should it suddenly stop? Luckily, nothing bad had happened until now, but that could change at the very second.   
What if something bad happens to his wife or their child right now and he wasn’t there – as if he could do something.  
He was running through the hallways and every servant that saw him coming jumped out of the way. Hakuryuu almost crashed a lot of times, but he was able to prevent that from happening every time – slowing down was not an option and his goal was near!  
The goal was the infirmary of the palace.   
There he almost crashed again. This time with a young nurse. Fortunately, he was able to stop at the right time and the young woman already stepped aside.  
They looked at each other.   
“Where is my wife?”  
Silence.  
The young woman seemed shocked. Well, one did not witness the emperor running like a mad man through the palace every day.   
“Second door on the right”, was all the woman could say.   
“Thank you.”

Hakuryuu pushed said door open and almost crashed again. Why must people always be in one's way, when one is in a hurry? Have those people nothing better to do?   
Without an apology he walked past the nurse towards his wife. His attention switched for a second, because he heard someone crying. His child. Children start crying after they were born, right?   
He couldn't see his child, because a doctor took care of it right now. Checking whether the child was fine or not.   
Hakuryuu wondered why he didn't heard the crying before. Maybe he was too deep in his worries to pay attention to his surroundings – his many almost crashes were also consequence of that.

The first thing he did, when he reached his wife's side, was taking her hand into his and give it a little squeeze. She looked exhausted. Well, giving birth was nothing easy – at least that what he had heard.   
She smiled at him and according to her she was fine. He believed her. If something weren't right, a doctor would have already taken action, right?   
He sat down on the bed and started to caress her hand.   
“Why did you not call me?”  
Maybe it was insensitive of him to ask that that now. She was tiered and there were more important things, like their child, at the moment to care about. But his worries mixed with his relief that everything was fine, made him feel sick and strange. He did not like it.   
“I'm sorry. I thought it would bother you. You have an important meeting tomorrow and you have to be prepared for it.”  
She did it for him. Didn't want to be in his way. He was the emperor. He had duties to fulfill and she didn't want get in his way of doing so. She meant well!  
“I know that, but I wanted to be by your side. I wanted to be by your side and hold your hand. I wanted to share that moment with you and give you my support, even if there isn't much I could have done for you. I wanted to experience the birth of our first child together with you.”  
All he ever wanted was to be with his wife.   
“I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I haven't put your feelings into consideration, when I told everyone not to tell you. I am really sorry.”  
Now she was crying, because of him! He made her cry! His selfishness made her cry! It was not her who did not put the others feelings into consideration, it was him. He had only thought about what he wanted to do or where he wanted to be. He never thought about his wife, because he thought she would feel the same way he did. And truth be told, he had made the same decision in her situation.   
“Don't apologize. You meant well. It was selfish of me not to think about your feelings. I was only thinking about me and what I want. I am sorry for that.”  
Hakuryuu place a soft kiss on her forehead and brushed some of her tears away.   
“It's alright. I guess, we both made a mistake.”  
“Seems so.”  
She smiled again. Oh, how much did he love her smile. Every time she smiled it felt like the whole world would light up.   
She was his everything. He could cope with every lose somehow – he had to cope with so many loses already –, but losing her would be his end. She helped him so much to come clean with his past, with his family and with himself. And now she had given birth to their first child.   
“Please call me next time.”  
“I will. Promise!”   
He kissed her forehead again. He was so happy. 

Someone cleared his throat and draw Hakuryuu’s and his wife’s attention to him. At that moment Hakuryuu realized that they were still in the infirmary surrounded by nurses and doctors. And one of the doctors were now standing next to them and holding their baby, who had stopped crying.  
“Congratulation, your Highness, the empress gave birth to a healthy boy.”  
The empress reached for the boy in the arms of the doctor, who give the child to her with a big smile.

There were no words to describe what Hakuryuu or his wife felt right now. The relief that everything was fine. The happiness to have a healthy child. The excitement to hold the small child, raise it, love it and make a lot of wonderful memories.   
“Look, look, Ryuu-chan. Look at our cute little boy. Look at his tiny nose and those tiny hands with its tiny fingers.”  
She was so happy. So excited.   
He had to try very hard not to start crying out of happiness and enjoyment.   
“Take him!”  
And he took his son in his arms.  
It was a strange feeling to hold such a tiny human. One day that little thing would be a tall, strong man. Life was amazing in this regard. 

It was hard to let go of his son and his wife. But he still was the emperor and he had an important meeting the next day. Also there was nothing he could do for his family now. His wife was still exhausted from giving birth and his son was more into sleeping and resting as well. As soon as he finished his preparations for the meeting he would go back to his wife and son.


	2. The first child (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/Reviews are very much apprecieated.

Hakuryuu did not possess much memories of his father, the former emperor Ren Hakutoku. Shortly after he was born the conflict between Kou, Gai and Go escalated and his father as well as his older brothers spent most of their time on the battlefield or in war councils. Therefore, he did not know what he as a father had to do now. What were his duties as a father?  
When his wife told him that she was pregnant he started to read a lot of books and scrolls – even though there weren’t much – about parenting. Unfortunately, he didn’t find what he was looking for. It was good to learn what a child needs and what a child usually was able to do at what age, therefore, he kept those things in mind, but he wanted to know something else. He wanted to know whether there was something he as a father could do for his child. Something that only he could do.  
There weren’t much books about parenthood, so he decided to ask some of the servants. Unfortunately, the servants weren’t of any help either.  
In the end he went to his wife and asked her about her opinion on that matter. At the end of their talked they came to the conclusion that it was their child that would decide what his duties as a father would be. 

***

Hakuryuu was the first to wake up. After he prepared himself for the day, he took care of the breakfast. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, or so they said. His wife was way too tiered in the morning to do anything and his son was too young – only a few days old.  
Usually he woke his wife up before he left for the kitchen, but most of the time it was useless. He had to wake her up a second time, when he came back with the breakfast. His son on the other hand was already in the process of waking up, when he came back. So he was the one who prepared his son for the day. He loved it. Even when his son was not able to talk now he still liked to talk to him.  
And it meant he could spend time with his son – mostly alone, since his wife needed a lot of time to get out of bed. As a man he, unfortunately, couldn’t feed his new born son.  
This was something only his wife could do, and while she was feeding their son, he set the table for the breakfast.  
The table was set for Hakuryuu and his wife, but of course their son also got a sit – in which the young boy was more laying then sitting – so he could hear and maybe see his parent interacting with each other and be a part of the family.  
During the breakfast their son mostly slept, but when he woke up he played with a little doll – playing meant throwing the doll around and then wanting it back – his mother had made for him. Hakuryuu thought his son was the cutes child out there!

***

Hakuryuu not only though his son was the cutest, but also the smartest. It was his first time being a father and even after reading some books, it never occur to him, that his son was a little bit faster in everything then other children – that his son was the smartest was just given and had nothing to do with how fast the boy was growing and learning.  
With almost one year his son was already able to walk and run around – much to his wife’s and his horror. That boy did not know any fear!  
Hakuryuu remembered the day his son took his first steps like it just had happened yesterday.  
That day was a day in which he receipt a message of an urged matter. Therefore, he had so leave his usual working place an meet up with some generals – the police in the new Kou Empire were former soldiers – without his wife knowing about this. Normally, something like this would not be a problem and normally is wife did not need to know where he was – she had her own work to do the whole day, so paying him a visit was mostly done when it had something to do with work or their son. And that day she wanted to visit him because of their son. One could say that she could have waited for him to return to his office or show him later what she wanted – that was also was she did with work, when he wasn’t around – but for her it was so important that she did not want to wait and so she was searching for him. In the end she was also able to find him. Hakuryuu will never forget her bright face when she found and called out to him.  
“Ryuu-chan, Ryuu-chan, look!”  
And he did look.  
“Stay where you are right now.”  
And so he stay where he was right now.  
“Alright, let’s show daddy what you have learned.”  
Saying that she put her son on the ground. He looked a little bit confused and unsure what to do, so at first he was just standing on his feet and looking up to his mommy.  
“Go to daddy. He is waiting for you. I am sure he wants you to hug him. You want to hug daddy as well, right?”  
A slight nod and then the child look to his father, who was patiently waiting and wondering what this was all about. Or better said he was wondering if his son was really already able to walk without any help.  
His son was able to! After the second step Hakuryuu got down on his knees and stretched out his arm towards his son. His wife was following right after her son, just in case. But in the end the small boy did not fall and was able to walk the whole way from his mother to his father without help. He was a little bit unsteady on his feet, but nothing bad happened.  
When their son reached Hakuryuu, he took him into his arms and praised him as if the young one just saved the whole world. 

***

Not only was their son fast in learning how to walk and run around – and thereby scare the living hell out of his parents – but also how to speak. His sentences were short, but he was able to make himself understandable and tell other what he wanted and needed. Most of the time their son tried to rephrase what he heard other people saying. Normally, it went well. But as soon as their son tried to rephrase something he heard Kouen or Koumei saying it got funny. Those two did not hold back with their vocabulary and so Hakuryuu’s son heard a lot of “strange” words – Koumei mostly talked about strategies – war strategies and economic strategies because why not – and Kouen about history and war – the history of the Kou empire was filled with war. Because of that Hakuryuu and his wife had to explain a lot of words and their meaning, also they had to guess a lot, since their son was not able to pronounce the words correctly. 

***

Hakuryuu’s child was selective of those who were allowed to interact with him. And even those who were allowed, were only allowed to do certain thing with and for him. While mommy and daddy were allowed to do everything for and with him – even though he had his preferences for certain things – others weren’t. Kouen was only allowed to tell stories about the Kou empire – Hakuryuu doubt that his son was really able to understand what was going on in those stories, but Kouen was really into it –, Koumei was only allowed to play strategy games or talk about strategies – and again, Hakuryuu doubt that his son was already able to understand what was going on or understand or even played the games by the rules – Kougyoku was allowed to dress him up and play with him – Hakuryuu and his wife were happy that Kougyoku got along well with their son and had a lot of fun spending time with the boy. On the other hand the boy was totally lost when it came to Kouha or Judar, so he tried to avoid those two. Hakuei was allowed to watch over him, when his parents were working, but it seemed like he wasn’t really interested in her – and he stayed far away from her cooking.

***

In the end Hakuryuu had a luck with his first born son. He was a very quiet, obedient and smart child. With two years the young boy became a big brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/Reviews are very much apprecieated.


	3. The second child (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakuryuu will became a daddy for the second time and is still a worried mess! He loves his little family so much!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are very much appreciated.

The day of the birth of his second child was a nice one. The day itself was hot, but cooled down at the late afternoon.   
Hakuryuu was happy that he was able to put down his pen and meet with his small family for dinner soon. 

In the morning, time seemed to have stopped. He was working and working, but somehow it did not get any later. On the one hand that was great, because he was able to finish a lot of his work. On the other hand it was tiring. Today was one of those days that were somehow exhausting to no end. It was hard to concentrate on his work and so he sometimes read the same sentences more than twice and he still was able to finish a lot of his work, because time seemed to have stopped.  
Hakuryuu reached for his glass, which was filled with water or at least it should have been filled with water. The glass was empty. Again.   
It was good to drink a lot, especially on hot days, but it was also very annoying since it meant to refill the glass so often and get new water.   
He did not even start to count how many times he went to the bathroom. 

Hakuryuu was worried about his wife. She did not feel well yesterday, and yesterday was a very hot day as well. She said she was fine, but he still was worried about her and the baby inside of her. Of course, he was worried about his son as well, but he was sure that aunt Kougyoku took great care of him – Kougyoku loved the little boy so much and the little boy loved his aunt so much. Further, his son was a very smart one and already knew that he had to drink more than usual on hot days. Unfortunately, the little child often forgot whether he had already drunk something or not, but aunt Kougyoku was there to make sure that he couldn’t really forget it.  
Since Hakuryuu had to leave for the kitchen – he still needed more water – he decided to check on his son and his older sister. A little detour did not hurt anyone. But the young man was not even able to leave the room because a servant just came rushing in before Hakuryuu could even stand up from his chair.  
With a confused expression he looked at the servant, who was totally out of breath. He was about to deliver an important message. The question was just, what kind of messages it was and from whom. Unfortunately, the servant did say the words “empress” and “infirmary” without any explanation or at least the explanation did not follow right away. Therefore, Hakuryuu started to panic and rushed out of the room. If he had stayed a little bit longer, he would know that his wife was about to give birth to their second child. But he did not stay and so his thoughts were a total mess and he worried so much about everything.   
One could find it interesting what kind of absurd thought could cross the mind of Ren Hakuryuu while being in panic. On the other hand, it was really sad that he was only able to think of negative things instead of positive ones. It was known that the second child should be born soon, but this never crossed his mind while running through the hallways of the palace. 

 

It was nothing new to the servants anymore that their emperor sometimes would run like a mad man through the hallways. Most of the time it was because something was wrong with his wife or his son and most of the time it was a false alarm. Hakuryuu was way too worried about his small family and more than once he did not even wait for an explanation and run off without knowing what the servant or someone else had to say in regards to his wife or son. Because of that it became a habit to the people in the palace to leave an ally between the left and the right side of the hallway. In this way crashes with the running emperor were brought to a minimum, even the almost crashes were minimized.   
Another positive side effect were the fact that no one had to fear being run other by the priest Judar and the former empress Kougyoku. Judar, as always, loved to tease other and more than once he over did his teasing which made Kougyoku rightfully angry and almost every time ended in a chase between the two.   
And last but not least there was the little prince with his mother as well. His mother loved to run, when she was overly happy. She needed to share her happiness with her husband, son and family – family included Kougyoku and Judar. Fortunately, she was not overly happy so often or at least not when she was alone. People could see from far away how happy she was with her life and her family, but running through the palace was more about the happiness she felt when her son spook for the first time or made his first steps or drawing a picture or her finding out something “interesting” or “cute” – she had her own interpretation of these words – or her not being able to handle her love her family and had to let them know that she loved them more than life itself!   
Her son just loved running in general. Running away from mommy or daddy was the most fun. Running away from other family member, excluding aunt Kougyoku, was running for his young life! The little one was not afraid of them, but he most likely did something he should not have done and was about to get “punished” – no one dared to punish the young prince besides his parents and aunt Kougyoku, who was too nice to think of a real punishment for her nephew – which he wanted to run away from. So, it was more running away from the punishment and not from the person that was chasing him. In other cases the hallway was just an extension to his playroom.   
Running around seemed to be a family trait. And as long as one was not affected by it, it was funny to watch the imperial family chasing through the palace now and then – the palace went silent after the fire accident many years ago, but started to be filled with love and laughter again since the emperor married his wife and things between him and his other family members were more or less handled.

 

When Hakuryuu reached his goal, without crashing into someone, he opened the door without knocking or thinking about the possibility that someone could be right behind the door. Who was stupid enough to stand behind a door anyway?   
Inside the room he found a bunch of nurses and doctors – there were always more than one doctor when it was about the imperial family – and his wife with Judar.  
And Judar looked very uncomfortable. He was delighted when he saw Hakuryuu entering the room, because he could leave now. And that was what he did as soon as he wished Hakuryuu good luck – Hakuryuu wasn’t sure why Judar wished him luck or for what, but he did not care much at that point. His wife needed him. Even now Hakuryuu did not think about the chance that he would became a daddy for the second time. He needed his wife to point that out for him. Not that he stopped worrying, only the reason why he was worried changed. 

While his wife gave birth to their second child, Hakuryuu felt so totally useless and unnecessary. He could only hold his wife’s hand and pray that everything would go right – of course he knew from the very beginning that he wouldn’t be able to do much for her besides holding her hand, but a part of him still wished to be able to do more than that. 

His worries vanished into thin air when he was holding his little baby girl in his arms for the very first time.


	4. The second child (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being the father of two children is not easy, because now there were two little cute kids that wanted attention. And Hakuryuu still had to deal with his past. But he gives his best to be a great father to his two little babies!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be at least 4 more chapters. I think about making a 5th one as bonus, but that depends on whether you (the readers) want it or not.

The biggest difference between his first child the second was the simple fact that his daughter, for whatever reason, loved “uncle” Judar a little bit too much.  
Hakuryuu’s daughter was a fast learner just like her brother with whom she got along very well. His son was proud to be a big brother and tried his best to help his parents with raising his baby sister. There wasn’t much to do or to help with for him, but even the smallest kind of help was help.  
In the morning it was still Hakuryuu who woke up first. And it still was his duty to prepare the breakfast and wake the kids up as well as his wife. Usually, his son was already awake. His daughter, on the other hand, slept longer and deeper and hated it when her father took her out of bed. Thankfully, her mood got better as soon as her mother fed her. Maybe it was because of her mother or getting food or the cuddling afterwards or all of it.  
His first born help with setting up the table and calling mommy after they were finished doing so. He also wanted to explain to his sister which food tasted good and which did not. She did not listen or care. Hakuryuu found it amusing and lovely!

***

Like her big brother she learned to walk and speak extremely fast. One child that did run around without knowing fear was exhausting and worrying enough. Two children like that were the worst possible nightmare coming true. Fortunately, his children were together most of the time. So finding one was enough to find the other one as well.  
What worried Hakuryuu more was his daughter’s love for Judar. Even as an adult that guy refused to act as such or take up his responsibilities. And Judar loved to play pranks! The victims were the poor servants in most cases, sometimes Judar dared to prank Hakuryuu’s wife, but then he would not get out of it unharmed. Getting on her bad side was something everyone tried to avoid, even Judar.

Hakuryuu thought of it as very amusing to see his second child, barely able to walk and talk, running around and trying to prank the people of the palace, while imitating the priest. Some day he would probably die out of laughter.  
His daughter came after her mother in regards to her appearance. Her behavior was like her mother’s as well, but sometimes she reminded him more of himself or his own late big brother Hakuyuu. His son on the other hand was very similar to Hakuyuu in both cases at least as far as Hakuryuu could judge. Unfortunately, he had been only six years old when his brother had been murdered.

***

When he had time, Hakuryuu played a lot with his children or read or tell them stories. The games they played were very different. Sometimes they played a role play in which he often had to be the bad guy, while his kids were the good ones. Mommy had to be saved from the daddy! He gave his best to be as bad as possible which wasn’t so easy with such cute children and such a lovely wife.  
Sometimes he would just sit on the ground and let his daughter make him “even prettier” than he had ever been. Afterwards he looked more like a clown, but she was happy and proud of herself and so was he.  
And other times he was only in the same room as his children and watched them doing their own things.  
His wife was able to spend more time with her little babies, therefore she always had to tell her husband a lot.  
Like about that one time when their daughter thought the she could pet a fish. Or that one time when their daughter drunk cold black tea. Or that time their daughter tried to dress herself up. Hakuryuu wished he had been there when that happened. He had also missed her first words and her first steps. Sadly, he had missed these things with his son as well. Well, he had only missed his son’s first steps. But that had been sad enough. He still regret it!  
He wanted to be a better father for his son. He wanted to be a better father for his daughter! And now he spent almost no time with any of them because of his duties as emperor! Maybe that’s the reason why he used every free second of his life to be with his son and his daughter. 

Besides his daughter being a fast learner and being extremely curious – too much for her own good sometimes – she also wanted to appear more mature – at least that was what Hakuryuu thought, while his wife meant that their daughter’s behavior was totally normal and had nothing to do with trying to be more mature –, so she refused to wear her diapers or her bib as soon as her brother stopped doing so. She never liked her bib anyway! How many tear had been shed because of them? Hakuryuu had not dared to even start counting. Again, it had been his wife who had remained level-headed in such a situation – Hakuryuu was bad with handling his crying kids. His wish to see them smile and happy influenced him so much that he sometimes was not sure what to do. He was overwhelmed in such situations and wanted to cry and get away. And then his wife would appear and handle everything with such a grace and easiness that he only could be astonished. He wanted to become a better father and to learn how to deal with, for him, difficult situations. Strangely, but fortunately, his children did not use his weakness against him. Normally, they were so well-behaved that it was almost scary and worrisome – of course, there were also times when the two were far away from being well-behaved, but no one was an angel.

***

When his daughter was older she once found him crying. That day had been terrible. So many things had gone wrong, then he had a fight with his sister Kougyoku, then he remembered the fire accident – which happened because of the fight with his sister – and in the end his two children were misbehaving and he didn’t know how to handle them. The thought that he was an adult and should have his emotions under control, especially in front of his children, was not really helping. If anything it made it even worse.  
So, instead of telling his children that they should apologize for what they had done and why it had been wrong and bad, he told them that he was disappointed with them, that he was annoyed by their misbehavior and that they should stop acting so stupid – both of them were still very young and had not known better – and of course he had cried at that point already. He also did not listen to what they were trying to say to him, instead he dismissed them and told them to not make up some excuses. All in all he had been the one who behaved like a little child and had been wrong – he later apologized to his son and his daughter who forgave him.  
His daughter and his son had started to search for him after he just left them in their playroom. Never had they seen their father to be so sad, loud and helpless. They were worried and even a little bit scared. It had been their fault that they father was unwell!  
When his daughter had found him, he was still crying. She hadn’t had said anything, was just sitting next to him and gave him a hug. She had been so much more mature than him at that time and there were no words to describe how ashamed he had been of himself – and he still was ashamed of himself, when he thought back to that day.  
This happening made him realize that he still needed a lot of help to move on from his past and that being a father meant more than just spending time with one’s children and the responsibility that came with being a parent was much greater than he had first thought and one would expect.  
Fortunately, he had his wife with him and two very great children.

***

Probably due to his daughter’s love for “uncle” Judar she developed some kind of obsession with peaches. When she got older she started cooking lessons – Hakuryuu felt so proud when she had asked him to teach her. Peach cookies, peach cakes, peach muffins and many more dishes including peaches were created by her and eaten by the priest and herself. At that point Hakuryuu had accepted his daughter’s strange taste in people – he was the one to talk since he and Judar were close friends and the priest was very important to him. If Judar were just a better role model!  
On the other hand, his daughter was a sassy and confident girl from the start and Judar’s was not responsible for that – Hakuryuu had no problem with his daughter being like that, her mother was like that too. 

***

All in all there was nothing Hakuryuu could really complain about. Yes, there were times when things didn’t go well, when he and his daughter had an argument or when there was an argument between the children. Yes, there were times when he wished things were easier and he would have more time for himself and his wife. But that were problems every family faced sooner or later. In the end all that matter was the fact that they loved each other!

***

When his daughter was three years she became a big sister.


	5. The third child (Part 1)

The day Hakuryuu became a father for the third time had been a nice day. It wasn’t cold but neither was it sweltering like the day his daughter had been born. Unfortunately, his wife felt not too well. Seeing his wife unwell made him sad and let him feel useless. There was nothing he could do for her besides holding her hand and telling her how much he loved her. Well, and he would cook all her favorite meals no matter how healthy they were or not. Normally, he looked out for a healthy diet, but when his wife was already unhappy and unwell he would do everything to bring back her smile. He loved her smile so much. His daughter had her mother’s smile. Those two were very similar. His son’s smile remembered him of Hakuren. Hopefully, his third child would have a nice smile as well. 

Before Hakuryuu left his wife to attend two appointments in the city – one was a negotiation and the second was just a meeting to see how the reformations worked out – he gave her a kiss and assured her that he would be back as soon as possible. Not that she needed this reassurance. It was Hakuryuu himself that needed it. Leaving his wife while she was not well was a horrible thought for him. His fears of her getting harmed and him being unable to prevent it or at least help her nagged at him. He hadn’t been capable to save those who were dear to him in the past and now that he was stronger and definitely capable doing so he still feared for the worst, because all his strength was for nothing if he wasn’t with her when needed.  
Hakuryuu also said goodbye to his kids who were a little bit upset that he left since they always had something to show to their parents. In the end those two did not need anyone to entertain themselves for a whole day and as long as their parents would look at their work or listen to their stories at the end of the day everything was fine. But playing with their parents was more fun.  
Kougyoku promised to take care of his wife, their children and any important matter that might came in while he was gone. He couldn’t thank her enough for that. She was such a kind person, not only to him, but to his family as well. No wonder that she was loved by his children so much and his wife was always so happy when she was able to spend time with Kougyoku. He hoped that this would never ever change! Finally having a loving family again was such a wonderful feeling that he didn’t want to miss again. 

The negotiation appointment was extremely exhausting. Hakuryuu was used to long meetings with a lot of listening even to the most ridicules arguments, staying polite, trying to find a mutual ground, repeating arguments and discussing things over and over again. Normally the discussions were expedient. Unfortunately, there were people in the world that didn’t know how to discuss. And even more unfortunate was the fact that one of those people was his discussing partner in the negotiation. More than once he wondered whether that guy even knew what he wanted or if he was just putting words together. It was really hard not to freak out and force that guy to finally say what the hell he wanted. Regrettably he had to stay polite and calm. Inside he had murdered that guy a million times already! Because the other party was such an idiot the negotiation took longer than expected and they did not even get to an agreement or at least brought their opinions closer to each other. All in all the whole meeting was a total waste of time.  
When the meeting ended Hakuryuu’s mood was near the freezing point and if he hadn’t been a civilized and well-mannered person he had jumped at anyone who would have approached him shortly after. He disliked nothing more than pointless meetings which consequently lead to nowhere. Wasting time was something he did not like at all. He could have used that time to do his work in the palace or spend time with his family or talk to people who really wanted an expedient discussion.

The next meeting was about the reformations that were legislate to improve the economy and the living standard of the population. For that he had to talk not only to the appointed representative of the difference town districts, but also walk through the town so he could see things with his own eyes. Sadly, people liked to tell lies, so he couldn’t believe everything someone told him without checking it himself. Also, walking through the city gave him a better point of view on how his people lived and whether they looked happy or not. The conversations with the representatives were very nice and they had a lot to say. Not only did they talked about political matter, but also some private things. Doing so made the meeting more pleasant. One of the older men gave him a few advice regarding the education of his children and how to make a wife happy. Hakuryuu had to admit that he was surprised since most men and women in the Kou Empire were of the opinion that it was solely the duty of the woman to take care of the children. The Kou Empire had a very clear hierarchy and role allocation. But who could put it past them? They all had been raised like that. Hakuryuu was no exception. Thanks to his wife his point of view in this matters had changed. He valued the way he was raised, but for him it was more important that people were themselves. Everyone should live their lives like they wanted and everyone was different. In the past those thought might not have always came to shine, but that was how he had always felt and thought. 

When he was about to end the meeting with the last representative a servant came running to him. Out of breath the servant told him that the empress was about to give birth to her child.  
Under normal circumstances Hakuryuu would be happy about the news, but the circumstances were not normal. It was way too early for his third child to be born. Didn’t the physicians say that the child would be born in about two months? Why he was child already coming? Was his wife alright? Was the child alright?  
He started to panic! His face got even whiter than it already was.  
Without thinking much Hakuryuu ran to his horse – it was pure luck that the meeting was about to end anyway and therefore the horses were already prepared for the way back – and had it gallop to the palace. Not that the way was so long, but he wanted to be with his wife as soon as possible. He needed to know what exactly was wrong. Maybe there was something he could do – probably not, but who know. 

Hakuryuu running through the hallway was nothing new. But as soon as he reached the infirmary he was instantly pushed out of the room again. Of course, he became more worried and mad at the doctors, but he knew better than to get inside again. He probably would only be in their way. In the few seconds he had been inside he had seen Kougyoku at his wife’s side, so at least his wife was not alone, but she had also been in pain.  
While waiting outside he paced up and down the hallway wondering what was going on. His mind was full of all possible horrible outcomes. Of course, he tried to calm himself down, but he wasn’t successful at all. If he would pace up and down any longer the floor of the hallway soon would have a hole in it. Sitting down was not an option! He needed to be ready for whatever might be. What if his wife asked for him? Then he needed to be by her side instantly! No second was allowed to be wasted!

One could almost pity the nurse who had the dubious luck of telling him that his wife gave birth to a son, but her condition wasn’t good. His son was born too soon, so a doctor was checking whether the boy was alright. Of course the young prince would need special treatment, but as long as nothing else was wrong there was nothing to worry about. Preterm birth was not unknown to the nurses and physicians of the palace, therefore they knew what they had to do. When Hakuryuu asked whether there was something he could do the nurse told him to just sit down and wait. Hence there was nothing for him to do besides not being in the way of others. 

Every passing minute felt like hours to Hakuryuu and the constant switch between “everything will be fine” and “I only bring disaster to others” was exhausting, annoying, confusing and definitely wasn’t calming him down. The nurse had brought him a chair, but as soon as he sat down he jumped up again. He needed something to do! Some distraction would be nice, but he knew no one to distract him and doing it himself didn’t work out – he tried it he whole time and failed hard!  
When sister Kougyoku came out he immediately turned to her and asked her about the well-being of his wife and child. Kougyoku looked tired and a little bit sad or shocked or both. Probably both.  
She led him into a different room and told him to sit down. He did as she told. She just sat down next to him and put her had head on his shoulder to rest. She was tired.  
Shortly after a nurse entered the room. With her Hakuryuu’s second son.  
The infant was so tiny – Hakuryuu knew that babies were small, but the one right in front of his eyes was smaller than his two siblings had been. According to the nurse the child was alright and his wife was fine as well – more or less at least. Both needed special treatment for a while, but all in all both were fine. If he wanted he could visit his wife for a few moments since she needed rest. Of course he visited her, but not for long since she was asleep. Alive, but asleep. 

However, even when his wife and child were both alright he couldn’t stop worry about them. No one knew what might happen the next day or the day after. His worries were mixed with the feeling of happiness. He had another child together with his wife and there was almost nothing in the world that could make him happier.


	6. The third child (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be so kind and write a review after reading! (It is extremely frustrating and demotivating to see how many people click on this story, but no one seems to think it's worth a few words. If you enjoyed it or want to leave constructive criticism feel free to do so!)

Everything was different with his second son. His wife had loved holding her babies. She had loved talking with them. She had loved being their mother. But that seemed not to be the case with her third child. She didn’t touch the boy. Seemed annoyed by the child. She didn’t look happy at all. Hakuryuu was worried and confused. He couldn’t understand what was going on, what was wrong. Why was his wife so unhappy?  
She still played with their two other children, snuggled with them, cared about them. Just her third child was ignored.  
Hakuryuu was devastated. He loved his tiny son who often cried, was chubby, didn’t want to eat much, but was so cute and lovely. It was hard to take care of the boy, his wife, his two other children and his work as emperor. Kougyoku helped him as much as she could. She had her own work to do and an own life to live and still she did so much for him and his family. He would never be able to pay her back for her kindness.

Kougyoku was the one who named the child. A decision he and his wife had made and Kougyoku had not been allowed to refuse. A name should be filled with love. His wife hadn’t been able to find such a name before the birth of the child, because she was very selective in this case, and after it had been even worse. His sister who was so happy about becoming an aunt a third time, who was so happy to get another family member, who had already planed all the things she and the little one could do should be the one who names the new born.

When his wife suddenly started to accept her son Hakuryuu was so happy that he almost started to cry. He never asked her what had changed. He had learned that she would tell him if she knew or if she wanted to. Asking her would only annoy her or might even make her go back into that strange behavior.  
The behavior of his second son, on the other hand, did not change much. He still did not eat much and cried a lot, but he also laughed a lot. Differently than his two older siblings he needed a lot more time to start speaking. When he was able to say mother and father he called Kougyoku and Hakuryuu’s wife mother. Sometimes he would even call Hakuryuu mother.  
Walking came a while after speaking. Before that he was crawling around. Like his older siblings he did not know fear! Hakuryuu always wondered where the fearlessness of his children were coming from. Both, he and his wife, were not that fearless. Maybe because they both had been through a lot of bad things. Hopefully their kids would never had to experience bad things.

When his second son was older he cried less and laughed more. The boy loved to make jokes, although those jokes were not really funny or made sense, but one had to started somewhere and then improve from there.  
Until he was ten years, he preferred to wear female clothing. Hakuryuu, again, had been worried at first, but soon stopped caring. As long as his son was happy and felt well it didn’t matter what kind of clothes his son wore.  
Kougyoku loved playing dress up with her nephews and her niece. Hakuryuu’s first born was mostly used as model, however the boy didn’t mind it at all. He was silently sitting on the ground while his siblings made his hair and put make-up on his face. Mommy and daddy also had to play models from time to time. This was mostly the case after their children had already tested out how the new look would be like. In the end Hakuryuu and his wife looked more like clowns, but this was nothing new, since their daughter had done so before the birth of her younger brother. Now they just had two lovely kids that loved to make them into a mess. Although the kids got better over the time.

When getting older their son also found his love for eating! Just like his mother. He also become interested into animals and plants which led to him bringing home all kind of animals. Normally his parents had no problem with that, but always told him to let the animal go, since he could not keep it in the palace. In the end they got a cat, a dog and later on also a rabbit. 

Hakuryuu’s second son loved to play outside, run around, make a mess and dress up. The boy was a happy person. With his siblings he played house, let them read stories to him, played pranks and did other fun things. And felt bad when one of his and his sister’s pranks hurt someone. Hurting someone was no fun! Kougyoku taught him how to make flower crowns and so he started giving flower crowns as an apologize gift.  
Hakuryuu’s other two children took their position as older siblings very serious. Defending their little brother against bad guys – including their parents – teaching him how to defend himself and how to get what he wanted, making sure he was dressed well, felt good and was happy. They saw it as their duty to teach their younger brother how the world worked and how to ensure that he had a good time. They had a lot of fun with their family, they loved their life and they wanted the same to apply for their younger brother! Hakuryuu and his wife wanted nothing else for their children!

From time to time the three children would share a bed and sometimes they were allowed into their parent’s bed. Snuggling was very important and Hakuryuu loved spoiling his children and his wife.

Hakuryuu’s second son was a very honest person, like his father, which caused a few problems now and then, but he soon learned when it was better to stay silent and when to speak his mind. 

One of his son’s favorite activities became riding. There was a specific horse he always wanted to ride and it even got a name from him since no one thought that giving a horse a name would be necessary. According to the second prince a horse needed a name as much as a human. So he started to name all the animals of the palace. The names weren’t that creative at all, however there were cute and funny – just like the little boy.  
Hakuryuu’s cute son had asked him, his father, to teach him how to ride a horse and later also how to fight. There might not be any reason to educate his son in fighting but there also was no reason to not teach him. Differently than himself his son had a talent for those things and therefore did not fail like him or was weak. Hakuryuu was really proud of his little boy that turned into a fine young man over the time. Well, Hakuryuu was proud of all of his children.

When his son was five years he became a big bother.


	7. The fourth and fifth child (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left, which will be probably out in May. Please enjoy and be so kind and write a review after reading!

Hakuryuu had always wanted a family. He had been so happy when he and his wife became a couple and later got married. He had been so happy every time his wife told him that she was pregnant. He had been so worried about her and the child every time she gave birth to one of their children. He was so happy having a wonderful wife, three wonderful children, a wonderful big sister like Kougyoku and a wonderful friend like Judar, even when that guy drove him mad almost every day. Hakuryuu finally had everything he had wished for. So he was happy when his wife told him that she was pregnant again. Having a fourth child would be great, a second daughter would be nice. But whether it became a girl or a boy was not important as long as the child was fine.

His three children were also very excited. They were already planning what they all could do with their little baby sibling. His second son was so excited that he asked every day when he finally would be a big brother and he talked to the unborn. He was sure that it heard and understood him.

Besides the usual suspects, someone else was very edgy to finally meet the new family member. Since the day Judar had heard of the expecting of another Ren he tried to prove that he was capable finding a good name for a child. Hakuryuu’s wife always rejected the magi. She liked the black-haired man, but she didn’t like the thought of Judar naming her child just so he felt better. Naming a child was serious business and not some competition or anything. Judar was only jealous that Kougyoku named their third child, while Judar had not even been asked, if he wanted to name a child.  
In the end she allowed Judar to name the child if it turned out to be a boy – she already had decided on a name for a girl and not even Hakuryuu had been allowed to disagree – and if Judar was able to provide her with a good name. The magi did his best and no matter how often he got rejected he would came again and present more names. Well, he got a little help from Hakuryuu’s daughter. Judar really put his all into finding good names and only presented the few ones he found good enough for the child of his emperor and empress, for the child of his dear friends, for his new family member. 

While Judar wished for a boy, so he could name him, Hakuryuu’s wife hoped for second daughter. Two boys and two girls would be great. Hakuryuu liked the thought of a second daughter as well, but he did not care too much. As always he was too busy being worried that something bad might happen. He really should stop worrying so much. 

The time passed and so the day of the birth of the fourth child came. Kougyoku was lucky enough to have to care of the four “children”. Judar was counted as child as well, because he did not behavior any better. Normally the kids would play around, but this time there was nothing that could them make go away. They waited in the hallway before the infirmary. Running around in the hallway and constantly asking when the new baby was born. Hakuryuu would have felt sorry for his sister, when he wouldn’t have been so busy with being worried about his wife and child.  
He was with his wife, when she gave birth and he felt bad that there was nothing he could do for her besides holding her hand. Why was giving birth to a child so painful? Shouldn’t it be something happy and joyful? And why was it just one person that had to endure all that? Why couldn’t he be pregnant instead of her? Why couldn’t he give birth in her stead? Why couldn’t he take the pain away from her? He wished, he could.  
One the other hand, why was he complaining? It was his wife who had to go through all that and not even once complained! She was so much stronger than him! 

Of course, also this time nothing went as planned. As if Hakuryuu wasn’t worried enough already. As if his wife wasn’t in pain for a long time already. Life could be such a bitch!  
They all were expecting one child. Well, apparently there was also a second child that wanted to be born. That was one of those moments in which Hakuryuu wondered, what his physicians were even capable of. How could they not know that his wife was pregnant not just with one but two children? One should not cry over spilt milk, right? The second child existed and wanted to be born. And so the whole giving birth process took a little bit longer. Poor Kougyoku, who had to deal with the children and Judar outside. And his poor wife, who had to be in pain longer.  
In the end everything turned out fine. At the end his wife gave birth to a girl and a boy. When Kougyoku, Judar and Hakuryuu’s children were allowed to meet the two little babies, things got a little bit chaotic. The kids wanted to touch, hold and already play with their two new siblings. Hakuryuu and his wife were busy to make sure that their children were not too rough with the sleeping babies, who were not so asleep anymore, when they were touched. Kougyoku asked Hakuryuu’s wife, if she was alright and the two had a little conversation. Kougyoku was worried about her female friend. Judar on the other hand was so happy that one of the newborns were a boy, because now he could name him. He was sure he finally had the best name for a prince of the great Kou Empire! 

Hakuryuu’s second daughter looked like him. When he hold her for the first time he was so surprised and confused – he did not even know why exactly. It was nothing unusual for a child to look like one of their parents, but his daughter looked like a copy of him. His wife thought so as well! And she was of the opinion that their daughter was too cute to be real! His third son on the other hand came after his mother. Hakuryuu wondered what kind of name Judar had in store and if that name would really fit the young boy.

After a short while Hakuryuu sent his children away. Kougyoku and Judar left as well. His wife and the two newborns needed rest. Hakuryuu stayed a little bit longer, but also left soon. They had all time in the world from now on!


	8. The fourth and fifth child (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter. I hope you liked this little one shot collection about Hakuryuu, his wife and their children. I really wanted to write something about Hakuryuu having a wonderful and big family and is happy. He deserves it so much!
> 
> Please be so kind and write a review after reading! (Reviews are extremely important for an author! Don't be afraid of telling me your honest opinion.)
> 
> Last but not least: Thank you, Guest, for writing so many reviews. Every single one made me very happy!
> 
> In case you liked this one shot collection, you may also like my one shot collection "Moments like this": http://archiveofourown.org/works/4313448/chapters/9779370

Taking care of one baby and a little kid was not easy. Both wanted and needed attention and sometimes they wanted and needed it at the same time. With a baby and two children it got a little bit easier, as long as the older ones were getting along. With two babies and three other children the world was hell! While his three other children could play with each other or their friends, which often were much older than them, because the palace somehow lacked children, the conflict potential was higher and when five children demanded attention Hakuryuu wanted to cry. When it only had been two kids he and his wife could share. It was even possible with three children. One took care of the baby, the other one played with the two older ones. Theoretically, this was also possible with five children as long as not both babies needed immediate attention. A lesson Hakuryuu still hadn’t learned by then was to accept that he could not and did not need to fulfill all his children’s desires immediately. He was the adult and had to set priorities. Further, differently than others, he had many servants that could help out with the kids, but he refused to ask for help, because it was important for him that his kids were raised by their family! He wanted his children to remember their parents not just as some distant existences, to whom they happened to be related to, but as parents, as family, as people who loved them and were loved by them. Therefore, Hakuryuu did not allow “outsiders” to handle his kids.  
At least his wife always had a good laugh when she watched her husband trying to change both babies’ clothes at the same time or their diapers. For him it wasn’t funny at all, because he did not want his babies to feel bad and hence he tried to attend to their needs as soon as they arose.  
As stressful as it may sound – it was stressful indeed – he loved his little ones and they were asleep for most of the time, especially his third son slept through most of the day, anyway – and most of day his wife took care of the babies, so he could do is job as emperor – he wished he could help out more.  
Changing his third son’s clothes? He was asleep. Changing his diapers? Sleeping. Attempted conversation between father and son? If the little one would snore, one could pretend he was awake. Hakuryuu was sure his son would even sleep through feeding time as well, if he could. However, eating was something no one could do for him, so he had to be awake and do it himself. This did not change the fact that he still felt asleep while eating and so it took longer until he was sated. The only time when that tiny boy got active on his own, was when someone dared to separate his sister and him. They always had to be in the same room or else hell would break lose! When Hakuryuu once took his second daughter out of bed to get her changed and therefore left the children’s bed room with her, his son was not pleased at all. The boy started to cry and tried to throw something. Luckily, there wasn’t much inside his bed to be thrown around. His parents were worried that he might choke, because of any unnecessary thing inside his bed.  
Hakuryuu, of course, had immediately returned to his son’s side to see what was wrong. Even Hakuryuu’s wife had come and looked scared – usually she looked calm no matter what was going on, but this time this hadn’t been the case. They both weren’t used to their son throwing such a fit. But soon after his sister was back at his side, the young prince was happy again. Besides his sister he loved his mother very much as well. At first Hakuryuu had been worried that he had done something to his son, until he understood that he was just overreacting and he was loved as well, just not as much as mommy. Everyone had their favorite. His second daughter loved him more than her mommy. He was her favorite parent. And this was totally fine. Hakuryuu himself also had preferred his mother over his father – what probably was also due to the fact that he barely had had any contact to his father.

His second daughter came after him in regards to her appearance. His first son also look a lot like him, but one could still see his wife in the boy. Their first daughter, however, came after her mother, the mole on the left side of her left eye was all the girl had gotten from him – the mole was just a little bit misplaced. The third child neither came after any of his parents, at least not at first glance. The hair and eye color of the boy were neither from his father nor his mother, but he got his soft features from her and the little split at the end of his eyebrows from Hakuryuu. However, Hakuryuu’s second daughter looked like an exact copy of her father. His wife thought it was the cutest thing ever and teased her husband with it. She even searched for old clothes of him, so she could put them on her daughter, when she was a little bit older. The little girl loved to look and be like daddy. Over the years she got more her own style, but still looked a lot like Hakuryuu and was happy about it. In regards to her personality, she was a nice mix between her parents, still her childself reminded everyone of the emperor. On the other hand, no one knew how the empress had been as a child.

_Hakuryuu was a lucky man with his wife and his children. His wife was so kind and understanding. His children were so well-mannered and cheerful. They were a happy family. Something he had missed for so long and had lost faith in._  
_Now he was here, holding his little baby girl who tried to grab his hair, so she could play with it. Now he was here, listening to the babbling of his little baby boy, who probably tried to tell his sister to play with him instead of daddy. Now he was here, feeling the warmth of his wife next to him. Now he was here, with his children next to him, observing their little siblings, while subtly trying to impress them._  
_Of course, not everything was fine and dandy all the time, but the times it was outweighed every obstacle they had faced and would have to face in the future._

There was that one time, when his youngest daughter got horribly sick. It was a really tough time, because she demanded her parents at her side and his wife, naturally, couldn’t be there all day and night, so they had to take care of her in shifts. His son was so far away from being pleased with leaving his sister alone and was throwing a tantrum. Back then Hakuryuu had been so happy with Judar taking it upon himself to distract the little boy and it worked. Whatever the Magi had done, it had worked. No one wanted to endanger the boy to get sick as well. It was painful enough to see one child suffering, a second one was not needed! But knowing that the boy was suffering from being separated from his sister, was not pleasant at all as well.  
The third son was a master in tripping over his own feet and therewith hurt himself on a daily basis. It was rare to see him without a bandaged or a patch. So, he caused enough stress without having an illness and he had to go through enough pain. 

As soon as his daughter learned how to walk on her own, she followed her father most of the time. She even took part in his meetings. There she would sit on his lap overlooking the happenings and sometimes suddenly start to babble something no one understood, but it sounded very important and meaningful! His son would mostly sleep through it. As long as his sister was there, nothing else mattered. Well, food mattered! And so he would only wake up around lunch and dinner time to make sure, he and his sister got up and get to the dining room, where he would then occupied his mother, in case she was already there and tell her something no one understood, but it sounded very important and meaningful. It was just too cute! 

But before they reached that point, there were years filled with a lot of crying. His second daughter easily cried. Mommy or daddy leaving the room, she cried. A servant or guard entered the room, she cried. A stranger came near her, she cried. Something did not go as she wanted, she cried. She did feel unwell, she cried. And sometimes she cried without anyone knowing why. She cried a lot. Luckily that changed over the time, but it had been pretty annoying and stressful back then. Her brother had been different – maybe she had cried so much to make up for her brother?  
It had been her, who spoke first and translated the babbling of her brother. Whether she was right or just said whatever had come to her mind, was another story.  
Her favorite toy, was the stuffed bunny, which she carried around all day long. No one besides her was allowed to touch it – it was always such a drama, when someone else touched it! This included her siblings, but excluded her parents.  
One could only image the horror everyone had to go through, when she lost it inside the palace – running around also meant being able to lose her beloved bunny everywhere. 

However, she was a smart girl. She never had any problems with the school work she had to deal with later on and she got more confident as an adolescent. She was always so quiet – only around her family she showed her cheerful and cheeky self – and it appeared as if she had a low self-esteem. Mommy and daddy worked hard to ensure that she got a good self-esteem, since both had problems with it in their youth and still suffered from it. 

Her brother was a bit different. He was always so quiet that it was worrisome in itself. After his sister started to walk and speak, he did the same. But it seem like he did not really liked or wanted it. Often he had hide behind his mother and pushed questions on to her or his sister. Strangers seemed to scare him – something he shared with his sister.  
Funnily, when he got older he totally changed. Like his sister he was quite cheerful and maybe due to Judar’s influence – the back Magi loved to interact with Hakuryuu’s third son –, he also got very cheeky. The difference between his cheekiness and the one of his sister was probably the fact that he had no problem with hurting others with it, while his sister felt sorry, in case she had hurt someone with her words or actions. Also he had no problems with crossing boundaries of others, but woe someone dared to cross his boundaries! It was not easy to handle him, if one did not know how to or how to take him in general. Apparently his third son had some problems to understand others and why some things shouldn’t be said or done or when things should be said or done and when not. 

Nevertheless, it became a habit to the children that the oldest of them read a story to the rest of them, while mommy and daddy were sitting on the couch, snuggling with each other and observing their little kids, after dinner. There was also a ritual for going to bed – no sleeping without a goodnight kiss and the right order of who was put into bed by whom. When the kids got older this ritual got a little bit loose, but a goodnight kiss was never forgotten! Goodnight kisses included the stuffed animals of the youngest family members as well – until the small ones were “too old” for it! Another important ritual was “holding hands”. Hakuryuu’s third son and second daughter always hold hands, when running around and it was important that, in case they were with another family member that said family member had to hold their hands as well. It got a bit difficult, when the youngest ones had their stuffed friends with them, since they had to hold them with one hand, while at the same time hold hand with each other and for example their father. A human only had two hands. However, it was somehow manageable. And they all got older and changed.  
The two youngest ones were everyone’s sweetheart and those two knew, how to use that to their advantage. Though it was hard to be angry with them for that. 

Fortunately, for Hakuryuu’s heart, those two were more cautious then their oldest brother and sister, which however did not mean that they were not exploring the palace and got lost thereby. It happened a lot, yet it was easy to find them, because a certain someone could not stop her crying. 

So, whenever Hakuryuu thought about his family or talked about them to other, he felt like he had one right out of a book. A happy family that never faced any hardship. Which wasn’t true at all, they had faced many in the past and there would be many in the future. He just couldn’t care less about the hardship, because in the end it didn’t change the important fact that he loved all of his family members and was loved by them. There was no perfect family, there was just his family and it was the right one for him – the perfect one for him. A family that taught him that even someone like him was allowed to be happy, that even someone like him was allowed to feel happiness. A family that helped him to trust others again, a family that taught him that being weak was not a crime and that everyone made mistakes. A family that he would be sure of never betraying him!  
He was happy and he would never ever let anyone destroy his family’s and his happiness!


End file.
